'Area of Study 1: Western Classical Music (1600-1899)' - Key Terms

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  • Created by: KGR01
  • Created on: 17-03-17 19:28
A capella
Singing unaccompanied
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Acciaccatura
‘Crush’ note ornament
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Air/aria
Solo vocal piece in an opera, show or oratorio
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Alto
Lower female voice
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Anacrusis
An upbeat (note(s) before a downbeat)
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Appoggiatura
Grace note
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Baroque
1650-1750
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Bass
Lower male voice
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Basso Continuo
Continuous bass part in Baroque music, often played on cello and harpsichord
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Binary form
Musical structure using 2 distinct sections
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Bridge section
A short section of music that links 2 other sections of music
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Broken chord
A chord that’s played as a series of notes
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Cadence
A pair of chords used at the end of a musical phrase
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Cadenza
A section of a piece, usually near the end, where the soloist can really show off
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Canon
Where the same tune is played by 2 or more parts, starting one after the other (like a round)
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Cantata
Baroque vocal piece made up of recitatives and arias
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Choral music
Music for choirs
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Chorus
Piece sung by the chorus (choir)
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Chromatics
Notes that don't belong to the main scale of the key
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Coda
A section at the end of the music that rounds it off nicely
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Codetta
A mini coda, used to finish a section of a piece
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Concerto
A piece for soloist and orchestra
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Development
The middle section in sonata form, where ideas are developed
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Duet
A piece for 2 instruments or voices
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Enharmonic equivalent
Notes that sound the same but are written differently (e.g. C#/Db)
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Exposition
The first section in sonata form, where ideas are introduced
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Falsetto
When a male singer sings notes higher than his normal range
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Ground bass
A repeating bass line, often with a set of variations over the top of it
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Harmonic rhythm
The rate at which the chords change
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Harpsichord
A keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked instead of struck (popular in the Baroque era)
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Hemiola
When music in 3/4 temporarily sounds as though it is in 2/4 (often approaching a cadence in Baroque music)
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Homophonic
A texture with a melody and accompaniment
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Imitation
One voice or instrument repeating something similar to a part another voice or instrument has just played
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Inverted pedal
A pedal note in the top part
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Libretto
The words of an opera or musical
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Major
A key that sounds happy and bright
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Mass
A piece of music in several movements, sung as part of a Church service
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Melismatic
A single syllable of text is sung over several notes
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Minor
A sad or reflective sounding key
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Minuet and trio
A ternary form piece, usually used as the 3rd movement of a Classical symphony
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Mordent
An ornament similar to a short trill
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Motif
A fragment of music, often repeated
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Opera
A story (usually secular) set to music
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Oratorio
Bible stories and texts set to music
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Ornament
Extra notes added to decorate a melody
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Overture
A one-movement piece for an orchestra, often an introduction to a larger work like an opera
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Patron
People who paid composers to write music
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Pedal
A held note, often in the bass part
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Perfect cadence
Chords V and I played at the end of a phrase; sounds ‘finished’
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Piano
Keyboard instrument invented in around 1700
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Plagal cadence
Chords IV and I played at the end of a phrase; often finishes sacred music
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Polyphony
A musical texture where 2 or more different melodies are interwoven
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Prelude
A piano piece, originally the bit that came before the main piece (Romantic composers wrote some preludes as stand-alone pieces)
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Recapitulation
The third and final section in sonata form where the ideas are repeated
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Recitative
A song performed in operas, oratorios and cantatas; it tells the story
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Romantic
1825-1900
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Rondo form
A musical structure ABACA
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Sacred music
Music written for Church or other religious music
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Secular music
Non-Church music
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Sequence
Repetition of a phrase at different pitches
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Sonata form
Musical form popular in the Classical era, consisting of 3 main sections, exposition, development and recapitulation with a coda at the end
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Soprano
Highest female voice
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Syllabic
Every syllable of the text is set to a note
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Symphony
A piece for orchestra in 4 movements
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Tenor
Higher male voice
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Ternary form
Musical structure ABA
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Texture
The way chords and melodies are woven together
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Theme
Musical idea
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Timbre
The quality of the sound of an instrument
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Tonal
Music written in a specific key
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Trill
Ornament (rapid alteration from one note to the next highest note)
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Turn
Ornament (note, note above, note, note below, note)
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Unison
Singing or playing the same notes at the same time
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Variation
A version of the main theme of the piece
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Vibrato
When a note oscillates (wobbles) to give a richer sound
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

‘Crush’ note ornament

Back

Acciaccatura

Card 3

Front

Solo vocal piece in an opera, show or oratorio

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Lower female voice

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

An upbeat (note(s) before a downbeat)

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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